Nepal's star batter Dipendra Singh Airee scripted history as he smashed six sixes in an over in a T20I game against Qatar on Saturday. Airee became the first Nepal cricketer to register six sixes in an over in international cricket.
The 24-year-old right-handed batter joined formed cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Kieron Pollard in the elite of players to record six consecutive sixes in an over in T20I cricket. He smashed six sixes off Kamran Khan in the last over to score an unbeaten 64* off 21 balls at Al Amerat Cricket Ground Oman Cricket.
Yuvraj was the first cricketer to hit six sixes in T20I cricket when he smashed Stuart Broad of England in the 2007 T20 World Cup. Kieron Pollard matches Yuvraj's record in 2021 by smashing six sixes of Sri Lanka's Akila Dananjaya in the T20I game in Coolidge.
Notably, Airee famously smashed a 9-ball fifty against Mongolia in the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year to break Yuvraj Singh's long-standing 12-ball fifty.
In ODIs, former South African batter Harschelle Gibbs was the first cricketer to hit six sixes in an over. USA's Jaskaran Malhotra became the only second cricketer in ODI cricket and fourth in international to record six sixes in an over.
Player to hit six sixes in an over international cricket:
- Harschelle Gibbs (South Africa) vs Netherlands in March 2007
- Yuvraj Singh (India) vs England in September 2007
- Kieron Pollard (West Indies) vs Sri Lanka in March 2021
- Jaskaran Malhotra (USA) vs PNG in September 2021
- Dipendra Singh Airee (Nepal) vs Qatar in April 2024
Meanwhile, Airee was batting on 28* off 15 before exploding in the last over off pacer Kamran Khan. Airee 64* off 21 balls and Aasif Sheikh's fifty helped Nepal to post 210/7 in 20 overs. Qatar kept the game balanced for the majority of the time with captain Muhammad Tanveer smashing 63* off 33 balls but Lalit Rajbanshi's impressive bowling guided Nepal to a 32-run win.
